Davis chews on his chances

Speedskater expects slower times at sea level

RICHMOND, B.C. — Shani Davis gave a Japanese TV crew more than it could have asked for Saturday morning.

And then, with a big grin, the Olympic champion speedskater asked for something in return.

After finishing his first practice at the Richmond Olympic Oval, where he will be favored to add at least one more gold medal to his resume during the Winter Games, Davis greeted the crew from the Tokyo Broadcasting System by pulling out a Japanese good luck charm his girlfriend had given him.

Davis, who arrived Friday, was pleased with the condition of the Olympic Oval, where he had won gold (1,500 meters) and bronze (1000) at the World Single Distance Championships last March.

The sea-level facility is considerably slower than the Salt Lake City OIympic Oval, where Davis set world records at those distances last year.

"It's a lot better than what I remember," he said. "It's exciting."

Davis, 27, of Chicago, won Olympic gold (1,000) and silver (1,500) four years ago in Turin, Italy, which also is at low altitude (672 feet above sea level).

Last year, he described the difference between Salt Lake, at 4,500 feet above sea level, and Richmond as making a 1,500 meters in Utah seem like a 1,600 here. Times in that race likely will be four or five seconds slower than at Salt Lake.

"What sets Shani apart is (accelerating) through turns at high speed," speedskating legend Eric Heiden said Saturday. "On a slower track, some of the skills that make him so good probably are not as big an advantage."

Heiden, now the U.S. speedskating team doctor, still thinks the "1,000 is Shani's to lose. He is so much better than anyone in the 1,000.

"In the 1,500, he is a strong favorite, but so are others, including Chad (Hedrick, his teammate and bronze medalist in the 1,500 four years ago.)"

Davis also will compete in the 5,000 meters, where he has an outside shot at a medal, and the 500, where his chances are minimal.

He figures it is critical not to think of the Olympics as anything unusual.

"I can't get too caught up in treating it as an Olympic race," Davis said. "It has to be just like every other race you were successful in."

Davis' first Olympic race is the 5,000 next Saturday. He finished seventh at the distance in Turin, 8.4 seconds behind the victorious Hedrick.

"It will be a good race for Shani to get comfortable with the ice at race speed,"' Heiden said. "It's hard to simulate that any other way. It allows him to get accustomed to the venue with regard to crowd and routine. Shani is a competitor. He is going to try to win."

He already had won big points with the Japanese TV crew.

As he walked away, Davis made one more light-hearted plea: "I want many, many Hi-Chews. Thank you.'"